State of change. By Andy Durgan (Jacobin: Reason in Revolt, 13 June 2016). “Without mass mobilization, Unidos Podemos’s electoral success won’t match up against the forces of austerity.”

Reassessing Podemos. By Andy Brown (International Socialism, Issue 150, Spring 2016). “[A look] at the nature of the Podemos project in the Spanish state and the question of how the left should relate to it.”

Portrait of the leader as a young theorist. By Alberto Toscano (Jacobin: Reason in Revolt, 19 December 2015). “Ahead of tomorrow’s elections, what do the writings of Pablo Iglesias tell us about where Podemos is going?”

A year of change postponed? By Luke Stobart (Jacobin: Reason in Revolt, 18 December 2015). “Spain votes in a general election on Sunday. Can Podemos reclaim its earlier momentum?”

Politics in a time of crisis. By Andy Brown (Socialist Review, Issue 406, October 2015). Review of Pablo Iglesias, Politics in a Time of Crisis: Podemos and the Future of Democracy in Europe (Verso, 2015, 256 p.)

The challenge of Podemos. By Manel Barriere, Andy Durgan and Sam Robson (International Socialism, Issue 145, Winter 2015). “Members of Podemos and En lucha/En lluita in Spain assess the astonishing rise of new left wing party Podemos.”

Fighting the new fascism: Juan Carlos Monedero on Podemos, Spain’s new political force. By Sebastiaan Faber (The Volunteer, September 9, 2014). Interview with “one of the party’s founders, political scientist Juan Carlos Monedero.”

Se også/See also:

English: Political party PODEMOS, Spain (YouTube). By Podemos Internacional. “If you want to better understand the political party PODEMOS and “the socio-political situation of Spain, subscribe to this playlist collection of videos.”

(Source: In Support of Podemos (Public Voices, Vol.1, No.2, Summer 2014). We express our support of this initiative, of its open and participatory method, hoping that its efforts will materialize and spread throughout many other countrieswe express our support of this initiative, of its open and participatory method, hoping that its efforts will materialize and spread throughout many other countries.. Signed: Gilbert Achcar, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky, Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri, Slavoj Ziezek, et al.

Explaining Ukraine’s second Maidan. By Maciej Bancarzewski (International Socialism, Issue 158, Spring 2018). Review of Chris Kaspar de Ploeg, Ukraine in the Crossfire (Clarity Press, 2017, 353 p.): “The book is a critical left wing antidote to the media bias and blackout on Ukrainian current affairs.”

A socialist case for Ukraine (Socialist Review, Issue 400, March 2015). “On the anniversary of the fall of Ukrainian President Yanukovych, which marked the onset of the current conflict, Rob Ferguson and Tomas Tengely-Evans interview Volodymyr Ishchenko in Kiev.”

Leftists, Liberals, and Ukraine: A tale of double standards. By Stephen Velychenko (Krytyka, March 2015). Review of Stephen Lendman (ed.), Flashpoint Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III (Clarity Press, 2014): “Pro-Kremlin leftists and liberals seem to think Putin’s Russian neoliberal capitalism preferable to Anglo-American and European neoliberal capitalism and tolerate his imperialist drive to maintain Russian hegemony if not full control over Ukraine.”

The oligarchic rebellion in the Donbas. By Zbigniew Marcin Kowalewski (International Viewpoint, Issue 480, January 2015). “In the geopolitics of domination of Russian imperialism in Ukraine and all along the western extent of the “Russian World” – conceived in the monarchist-orthodox manner and that of the Black Hundreds and White Guards – the Donbas is extremely important.”

Russian imperialism today. By Zbigniew Marcin Kowalewski (Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, November 27, 2014). “Over the centuries, until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the peoples who were conquered and annexed by Russia suffered three successive forms of Russian imperialist domination.”

Ukraine: No siding with nationalists (Weekly Worker, Issue 1025, 11 September 2014). “Eddie Ford argues that working class political independence cannot be built by backing the pawns of imperialism.”

Ukraine: imperialism, war and the left. By Rob Ferguson (International Socialism, Issue 144, Autumn 2014). “A debate has emerged on the left over how to respond to Russia’s role in the conflict. Behind these debates lie differences in approach to the understanding of imperialism in general and, among Marxists, how we should apply our understanding of the classic theory of imperialism developed by revolutionaries in the early 20th century.”

The Russian far right. By Ben Neal (The Project: A Socialist Journal, September 3, 2014). “… [about] the Russian far right and the extent of its involvement in the civil war currently raging in south eastern Ukraine.”

Understanding the Civil War in Ukraine. By David Mandel (The Bullet, E-Bulletin, No.1025, August 24, 2014). “My goal is to offer a framework that can help in understanding and evaluating the mass of information about the conflict coming from governments and the media.”

Crisis in Ukraine (pdf) (A New Politics pamphlet, June 2014, 24 p.). “Here we offer three articles that we think help us make sense of what’s going on, by Joanne Landy, Kevin B. Anderson, and Sean Larson. Landy and Anderson attempt to provide a political assessment of what has been going on, while Larson offers some important background on the Ukrainian elite.”

Ukraine’s spiraling crisis. By David Finkel (Solidarity (US), May 7, 2014). “The crisis is closer to the point where one explosion or tactical miscalculation might overtake the rational calculations of imperial state interests.” With links to Darkness in May: A socialist eye-witness in Odessa (May 4) + interview with Volodymyr Ishchenko, a sociologist studying social protests in Ukraine (April 19).

Eye-witnesses in Odessa (Solidarity (UK), Issue 323, 7 May 2014). “Articles by Ukrainian and Russian left activists (and one by the Russian Communist Party) about last Friday’s events in Odessa …”

Boris Kagarlitsky on eastern Ukraine: The logic of a revolt (Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal, May 1, 2014). “Boris Kagarlitsky on the background to Ukraine’s growing revolutionary movement in the south east”.

Report from a visit in Kiev in April 2014 (Libcom.org, April 29, 2014). “These are notes from discussions with activists of left-wing groups in Kiev in April 2014, including members from the Autonomous Workers’ Union, Left Opposition and Student Direct Action, as well as visits at Maidan.”

Where is Putin’s Russia going? (SocialistWorker.org, April 22, 2014). Interview with Ilya Budraitskis, a historian and spokesperson for the Russian Socialist Movement.

Imperial delusions. By Alex Callinicos (International Socialism, Issue 142, Spring 2014). “The reaction of the Western left to this enormous crisis has been, to put it mildly, confused. Far too many (including some who should know better) have been willing to cast a blind eye at or find excuses for Russia’s military intervention.”

A CounterPunch special report: The Ukraine imbroglio and the decline of the American Empire. By Arno J. Mayer (April 18-20, 2014). “It might also be salutary to note that this standoff on Ukraine-Crimea is taking place in the unending afterglow of the Second Cold War and at a time when the sun is beginning to set on the American Empire as a new international system of multiple great powers emerges.”

Boris Kagarlitsky on Ukraine: From the Maidan to the revolution? (Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal, April 13, 2014). “In Ukraine, a genuine revolution is unfolding. This may seem strange, but it is something very characteristic of the history of that country.”

Is Crimea another Kosovo? (SocialistWorker.org, March 27, 2014). “James Robertson recounts the history of Kosovo, before and after the breakup of the ex-Yugoslavia, and assesses the accuracy of Russia’s comparisons to Crimea.”

Annexations. By Susan Watkins (New Left Review, Issue 86, March-April 2014). “The actual record of 20th-century land grabs, and the cross-cutting geopolitical pressures bearing down on Ukraine.”

Editor of Ukranian leftwing site: The enemy is within (In Defence of Marxism, 25 March 2014). “We publish an interview with Ukrainian left-wing activist Kolesnik Dmitry. The interview gives an excellent insight to the situation in Ukraine and the forces that are at play.”

Ukraine: four points in response to Chris Nineham. By Anindya Bhattacharyya, Estelle Cooch and Ben Neal (RS21: Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century, March 24, 2014). “It suffers from a degree of strawfiguring: caricaturing one’s opponents’ positions, but we are all guilty of that to some extent. We want to mark, however, that “the main enemy is at home” was a response to the left openly backing their domestic imperialist war effort.”

Ukraine: why being neutral won’t stop a war (Counterfire, 23 March 2014). “Chris Nineham argues that being against imperialism in general isn’t enough – anti-war activists in the West need to oppose the aggressive expansion of the Nato military alliance.”

Ukraine: Positions of the European left (Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal, March 21, 2014). “A number of European left parties have released statements on the developments in Ukraine, Crimea and the region.”

Crimea: a divisive, dangerous assault. By Gabriel Levy (New Socialist, 17 March 2014). “Struggles over social issues could be the starting-point for countering the poisonous effect of pro-Russian separatism on one side and extreme Ukrainian nationalism on the other. But radical socialists in Kyiv and in eastern Ukrainian cities emphasise that, in the immediate future, launching such struggles will not be easy.”

Who benefits from Ukraine’s economic crisis? (Hint: not average Ukrainians). By Jack Rasmus (Common Dreams, March 17, 2014). “What interests—in the Ukraine and global (i.e. western Europe, USA, Russia)—stand to benefit economically from recent and future events in the Ukraine? Who stands to lose?”

Ukraine and the national question (SocialistWorker.org, March 11, 2014). “Sean Larson and Lee Sustar explain how the imperial relationship with Russia has affected Ukraine’s economic and political developments, past and present.”

A contradictory revolt in Ukraine. By Tomas Tengely-Evans (Socialist Review, Issue 389, March 2014). “The situation in Ukraine is fast moving and complex and it is easy to misunderstand what’s at play.”

Russian socialists against the war (SocialistWorker.org, March 5, 2014). “On March 1, as Russian forces were completing their takeover in Crimea, the Russian Socialist Movement issued this statement saying no to war in Ukraine.”

Polite intervention’ and the Ukrainian uprising. By Boris Kagarlitsky (Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal, March 4, 2014). “The truth is that large-scale capital, both private and bureaucratic, has no need at present for a war.”

The threat of war hangs over Ukraine (SocialistWorker.org, March 3, 2014). “Alan Maass and Lee Sustar provide the background for understanding Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine–and inter-imperialist rivalries that are coming to a head.”

Declaration of Internationalists against the war in Ukraine (Aitrus.info, March 2, 2014). Signed by KRAS, Russian section of the International Workers Association, Internationalists of Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Israel, Lithuania, Romania, Poland, Anarchist Federation of Moldova, Fraction of the Revolutionary Socialists (Ukraine), Workers Solidarity Alliance (North America).

10 things to remember about the crisis in Ukraine and the Crimea. By Lindsey German (Counterfire, 2 March 2014). “The situation in Ukraine and the Crimea and the rivalry between the West and Russia threatens to explode into a much larger war than has been seen for many years.” See critique from Richard Seymour: Ukraine: against infantile realpolitik (Lenin’s Tomb, March 5, 2014).

Crimea – not ‘ours’ or ‘yours’ (LeftEast, 2 March 2014). “Events in Ukraine are moving at a terrifying speed. This statement was prepared by the editors of the OpenLeft in the morning of March 1, 2014. Today, March 2, Russians in different cities will hold rallies against a possible Russian intervention into Ukraine.” Svensk udgave på Marxistarkiv.se (pdf).

Ukraine: between Russia and the West. By Alastair Stephens (Counterfire, 2 March 2014). “Ukraine risks being torn apart by forces encouraged by the West and their pro-Russian opponents.”

Ukraine: Regime fall followed by fresh chaos. By Tony Iltis (Green Left Weekly, Issue 999, March 1, 2014). “The corruption and anti-people economic policies of the politicians elected after the “Orange Revolution” ― protests that brought down the government in 2004 ― has created scepticism about establishment politicians of all parties.”

Ernesto Laclau: Post-Marxism, Populism and Critique. By Will Horner (Marx & Philosophical Review of Books, 16 July 2015). Review of David Howarth’s (ed.) book (Routledge, 2014, 294 p.). “… the sad passing of Laclau in April last year means this volume is one of the first attempts to present the totality of Laclau’s corpus.”

Mistaken identity – or can identity politics liberate the oppressed? By Sharon Smith (International Socialism, Issue 62, Spring 1994, p.3-50). Scroll down to the section: Post-Marxism: politics in a void (p.25-32), with a critique of Laclau/Mouffe.

God only knows (pdf) (Marxism Today, December 1991, p.56-58). “Ernesto Laclau discusses why marxism as a system of thought is outmoded.”

Defending the orthodoxy. By Paul Kellogg (International Socialism, Issue 37, Winter 1988, p.118–130). Review of of Ernesto Laclau & Chantal Mouffe, Hegemony & Socialist Strategy (Verso, 1985). “Hegemony is an eloquent textbook of the new revisionism but is completely dishonest in its method.”

Is left populism a viable strategy? By Héctor Puente Sierra (Socialist Review, Issue 441, December 2018). “The renewed interest in this politics is shown by the recent publication of two books by Mouffe and by Laclau.”

On the front lines of the Populism wars. By Anton Jäger (Jacobin, 6 August 2018). “Left populism might be working in practice — but does it work in theory? A review of Chantal Mouffe’s latest salvo in the ‘populism wars’ (For a Left Populism, Verso, 2018, 98 p.)”

Hybrid loyalties at the World Cup. By David McMurray (MERIP, June 15, 2014). “The World Cup stirs up nationalist fervor across the Mediterranean, but nowhere more so than in Algeria and France.”

Let them eat soccer. By Mike LaSusa (Jacobin, 13 June 2014). “Anti-World Cup protests rage in Brazil, but political struggle has long known the beautiful game.”

Stealing back the game (Weekly Worker, Issue 1014, 12 June 2014). “As the World Cup begins in earnest, Harley Filben examines the tense political background.”

Brazil: Who is the World Cup for? By Alex Minoru and Gabriel Pinho (In Defence of Marxism, 12 June 2014). “Highlights of the enormous social and class contradictions that have surfaced around the tournament.”

Who’s using the World Cup? By Dave Zirin (SocialistWorker.org, June 11, 2014). “Days before the World Cup begins, mass unrest is making Brazilian leaders worried.”

FIFA World Cup: Wave of protests and strikes unleashed in Brazil. By Farshad Azadian (In Defence of Marxism, 10 June 2014)

Striking on the eve of the Cup (SocialistWorker.org, June 5, 2014). “Dirceu Travesso, writing on behalf of the Brazilian labor federation Central Sindical e Popular-Conlutas, calls for international solidarity.”

Pelé said what? By Dave Zirin (The Nation, May 20, 2014). “Even the legend Pelé, often deferential to those in power, has criticized the World Cup.”

In English

US vs Free Syrian Army vs Jabhat al-Nusra (and ISIS): History of a hidden three-way conflict (Marxist Left Review, No.14, Winter 2017). “Michael Karadjis answer the ‘comic-book view widely expressed in tabloid journals of the mainstream, left and right’, that alleges the Syrian rebellion against the dictatorship of Bashar Assad is a conspiracy of incompatible forces.”

Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East. By Sean Ledwith (Counterfire, June 30, 2016). Review of Patrick Cockburn, Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East (OR Books, 2016, 428 p.) + Michael Griffin, Islamic State: Rewriting History (Pluto Press, 2015, 176 p.)

How to understand ISIS. By Malise Ruthven (The New York Review of Books, Vol.63, No.11, June 23, 2016). Review of Fawaz A. Gerges, ISIS: A History (Princeton University Press, 2016, 368 p.)

Three different takes on ISIS. By Gilbert Achcar (The Political Quarterly, Vol.87, No.1, January-March 2016; online at The Unrepentant Marxist, March 1, 2016). Review of books by Patrick Cockburn, Michael Weiss/Hassan Hassan and Jessica Stern/M. Berger.

On ISIS, by the editors + A Jihadism Anti-Primer, by Darryl Li (Middle East Report, Issue 276, Fall 2015). “What is ISIS, where does it come from and where is it going?”

A brief history of ISIS. By Adam Hanieh (Jacobin: Reason i Revolt, December 3, 2015). “”The real genesis of the Islamic State’s rise needs to be seen in the trajectory of the Arab uprisings.” Svensk udgave på Marxistarkiv.se: Kort historia om ISIS (pdf).

Response to Tariq Ali 2015, or the need for internationalist solidarity. By Joseph Daher (International Viewpoint, Issue 491, December 2015). “Tariq Ali spoke at a Stop the War rally in London … [and] propagating, again, conspiracy views and actually legitimizing Russian imperialist interventions in Syria.”

The 13 November attacks in Paris: the terror of the Islamic State, the state of emergency in France, our responsibilities. By FranÃ§ois Sabado and Pierre Rousset (International Viewoint, Issue 490, November 2015). “The Islamic State and other similar movements do not just react; they act according to their own agenda.”

Isis consolidates. By Patrick Cockburn (London Review of Books, Vol.36, No.16, 21 August 2014). The article is from August 1, 2014.

Retribution in Iraq. By Jack Farmer (RS21, July 4, 2014). On the emergence of ISIS from the disastrous US occupation.

Se også:

The Kurdish crisis in Iraq and Syria. By Joseph Daher (Against the Current, Issue 192, January-February 2018). “This means also supporting the right to self-determination of the Kurdish populations throughout the region.”

The Panthers can’t save us now. By Cedric Johnson (Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, Vol.1, No.1, Spring 2017, p.56-85). “This essay is written against the prevailing Black Power nostalgia that informs contemporary struggles against police violence.”

Black Lives Matter. By Brian Richardson (Socialist Review, Issue 417, October 2016). “The rise of Black Lives Matter in the US marks an end to the Civil Rights movement’s claim that black people in high places could be the solution for all.”

BLM movement grows stronger. By Malik Miah (Against the Current, Issue 184, September-October 2016). “The power of the movement is its breadth and the role of dynamic women and men in leadership.”

What does Black Lives Matter want? By Robin D. G. Kelley (Boston Review, August 17, 2016). About the document, A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom & Justice: “It is a remarkable blueprint for social transformation that ought to be read and discussed by everyone.”

Black Lives Matter: A new movement takes shape. By Khury Petersen-Smith (International Socialist Review, Issue 96, Spring 2015). “The sheer breadth of the movement is another indicator of its power and the chord that it has struck.”

My city stands with Mike Brown (SocialistWorker.org, December 1, 2014). “… rounds up reports of protests around the U.S. after the decision of a St. Louis County grand jury not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.”

Rally at Union Square at 6pm(29th April 2015) on the North Side of the Square (on 17th street) to show the people of Baltimore that we stand in solidarity with them and with their resistance because their resistance is for justice and their justice is our justice.’ (Millions March Facebook event page)

Examing the revolution in Rojava. By Emma Wilde Botta (International Socialist Review, Issue 108, Spring 2018). Review of Michael Knapp, Anja Flach and Ercan Ayboga,Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women’s Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan (Pluto Press, 2016, 272 p.): “… one of the first full-length books to address the emergence of Rojava, an autonomous region in northern Syria that has been heralded by many as a socialist and feminist model for social change.”

The AKP, the Kurds and the siege of Kobane. By Uraz Aydin (International Viewpoint, Issue 480, January 2015). “There is an urgent need for the revolutionary left, despite its weakness, to give its full support to the struggle of the Kurdish people whatever the criticisms of its leadership.”

The false friends of Kobane. By Errol Babacan and Murat Cakir (Jacobin, January 6, 2015). “The significance of the struggle in Kobanê cannot be overstated. But real international solidarity won’t come in the form of military intervention.”

The results of the Kobane war; so far. By Amed Dicle (International Viewpoint, Issue 477, October 2014). “However, Kobane never fell; it resisted, and is still resisting. This resistance is now the main agenda of not only the Kurds and the Middle East, but the whole world.”

Kobane, the Kurds and the Syrian revolution (SocialistWorker.org, October 15, 2014). Svensk udgave på Marxistarkiv.se (pdf). “Joseph Daher analyzes the forces at play in this article for his blog Syria Freedom Forever and makes the case that the Kurdish struggle for self-determination and the Syrian revolution against the Assad dictatorship share a common destiny.”

Behind the Kobane tragedy: The Kurdish political movement and Turkey. By Özlem İlyas Tolunay (New Politics, October 14, 2014). “The Kurdish political movement is not monolithic. There are moderate Islamists, leftist and nationalists in it and this reality has a significant effect on their policies.”

Kurdistan: the battle for Kobane. By Serge Jordan (Socialist Alternative, October 3, 2014). “Regional war poses new challenges for struggle for Kurdish self-determination.”

Se også:

The Kurdish crisis in Iraq and Syria. By Joseph Daher (Against the Current, Issue 192, January-February 2018). “This means also supporting the right to self-determination of the Kurdish populations throughout the region.”

The New-Old PKK. By Alex de Jong (Jacobin: Reason in Revolt, March 18, 2016). “The PKK has continued to struggle for justice in Kurdistan. But its democratic transformation leaves much to be desired.”

Stalinist caterpillar into libertarian butterfly? – the evolving ideology of the PKK. By Alex de Jong (International Viewpoint, 11 March 2015). “The focus is on the movement’s ’official’ ideology as written down in statements of Öcalan and documents of the PKK.”

In English

Citizens and socialists in Hong Kong (Socialist Review, Issue 492, May 2015). “Interview with Hong Kong-based socialist Au Loong Yu about the dangers and opportunities that have emerged from Occupy Central.”

Scholarism on the march (New Left Review, Issue 92, March-April 2015). “Interview with Joshua Wong, leader of Hong Kong’s radical school students.”

Links:

New broom in Burkina Faso? (New Left Review, Issue 101, September-October 2016, p.93-119). “Alexandra Reza places Compaoré’s regime and its ouster in a historical context of dictatorship and dependency that has been repeatedly challenged by popular mobilization.”